6 Simple Ways to Make Test Prep Activities Less Boring
State testing season is upon us…or maybe not? Perhaps you’re one of those teachers who plans ahead and incorporates best practice test prep activities all year long. Either way, test…
Take Text Annotation to a New Level with Purposeful Doodling
Ever feel like you’d like your students to dig deeper into a text instead of just glossing over it with a superficial read? One of the most powerful strategies we…
Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Stick and Increase Learning!
Inside this Post: Tired of students forgetting what they’ve learned? Research emphasizes the value of previewing and reviewing. Keep reading for practical, manageable ways to build spacing into your classroom. Travel…
Using Student-Created Graphic Organizers to Elevate Learning
Inside this Post: Need to deepen student investment in graphic organizers? Try differentiating. One of the highest levels of choice we can offer is student-created graphic organizers. Find the details in…
How Specialized Graphic Organizers Can Encourage Critical Thinking
Inside this Post: Are your graphic organizers getting stale? Unlock the power of specialized graphic organizers, and watch critical thinking soar. (I’ll also be speaking about this topic at a…
3 Ways to Inspire Students with Eye-Catching Graphic Organizers
Inside this Post: How to maximize student engagement with a simple secret…eye-catching graphic organizers. This is the second post in a series about graphic organizers. Want to start at the…
Modeling with Graphic Organizers: A Surefire Way to Increase Learning
Inside this Post: If your experience with graphic organizers has been less than enchanting, stick around. This post has simple, specific suggestions for modeling with graphic organizers to increase learning!…
5 Helpful Ways to Use TED Talks in the Classroom
TED Talks are videos that present engaging ideas in 18 minutes or less. Their compact, visual format makes them a great vessel for the middle and high school classroom! Truly,…
How to Create a Calm and Predictable Yet Inspiring Classroom Atmosphere
Wondering how to create a calm, predictable, and inspiring classroom atmosphere? Let’s start at the beginning! What is classroom atmosphere, and why does it matter? It’s actually quite abstract! Classroom…
7 Good Examples of Emotional Character Development – with Mentor Texts!
Looking to teach students about how character development impacts theme? First, you’ll need to model with some specific, high-interest examples. Students need to know what character development looks like from…
7 Simple Secrets for Success with Discussion Based Literature Circles
Getting ready to begin student-led literature circles? Literature circles are the perfect opportunity to combine reading, writing, speaking, and listening in an authentic way! But, sometimes the broad nature and…
6 Easy Ways to Prepare for Parent-Teacher Conferences
Are parent-teacher conferences in your near future? Getting organized is important. It can be challenging to communicate everything you want guardians to know in a short 10 or 15 minute…
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